by Sophie Moss
“I knew it.” Annie said bitterly. Grace had told her about the eco-resort when they’d spoken on the phone a few hours ago. Grace had found out from Ryan, who’d called his sister that morning to fill her in on the news. As soon as Annie had heard why Will had agreed to sell, she’d known Blake had made it up. But she hadn’t had any proof until now.
“I’ve been trying to call Will ever since I found out,” Grace said. “Ryan’s been trying to call him. Becca’s been trying to call him. He won’t answer any of our calls.”
“Della and Joe have been trying to reach him all day, and he won’t answer any of their calls either,” Annie said. “He’s probably in the air by now, but what if he won’t listen to any of the messages when he lands? If he won’t pick up his phone, how are we going to stop him?”
“Someone’s going to need to do something drastic.”
“Like what?” Annie asked.
“Like get on a plane and go after him.”
Annie went very still.
“Do you love him?” Grace asked.
“What?”
“Do you love him?” Grace asked again.
Annie’s heart began to pound. What was the point in denying it anymore? “Yes.”
“That’s what I thought.”
“I can’t get on a plane right now, Grace. I can’t leave Taylor. Not after what happened this morning.”
“I thought you might say that.”
Annie jumped at the knock on the door. Rising slowly, she spotted Della, Joe, Becca and Ryan through the glass. “Grace?” She waved them in. “What’s going on?”
Becca walked into the café, holding out her hand for the phone. “Is that Grace?”
Annie nodded.
Becca took the phone. “Hi…yes… We’re here. It’s all set. Right…okay…see you tomorrow.” She hung up the phone and pulled an envelope out of her pocket, handing it to Annie. “We got you a seat on the first flight out of BWI tomorrow morning.”
Annie stared at the envelope. “I’m the last person he wants to see right now.”
“You’re wrong,” Della said, taking the envelope from Becca and putting it in Annie’s hand. “You’re the only one who can change his mind, Annie. I know you’re worried about leaving Taylor, but Joe and I will watch her. We won’t let anything happen to her.”
“What about the hunters?” Annie protested. “What if more guns go off? What if she needs me?”
Behind Della, Joe cleared his throat. “I talked to most of the local guides today. They agreed to steer clear of the area, just for the weekend.”
“Why would they agree to something like that?”
Joe shrugged. “Most of them owed me a favor.”
Annie gaped at him. Did every person in this county owe Della and Joe a favor? Looking back down at the envelope, Annie shook her head. “If I do this, I’ll have to close down the café for the weekend.”
“That won’t be necessary,” Ryan said, dipping his hands in his pockets. “Becca and I are going to cover for you.”
Annie looked up at Ryan. “You’re going to cover for me?”
He smiled. “I waited tables at Rusty’s for two summers when I was in high school. As long as you can give me a crash course in how to work that espresso machine tonight, we should be good to go.”
“I don’t know what to say.”
“Say yes,” Becca urged.
At the sound of a child’s footsteps padding down the steps, they all turned. Taylor was wearing her pink flannel pajamas, with a fleece blanket wrapped around her shoulders. Riley wagged her tail when she saw the crowd gathered in the café.
Taylor paused at the bottom of the stairs, blinking up at them. “What’s going on?”
Della walked over to her. “How would you like to spend the next couple of nights with Joe and me? We could have a slumber party and stay up late watching movies and eating ice cream.”
Taylor looked over at Annie. “Are you going away?”
Della brushed a hand over Taylor’s hair. “She’s going to see Will.”
Taylor hugged her blanket tighter. “Will’s gone?”
Annie nodded.
Taylor gazed up at Annie, her eyes widening. “Are you going to California to bring him back?”
Annie swallowed. She was going to California to convince him not to sell the inn. She didn’t know if she had the power to bring him back. “I don’t know, sweetie.”
Taylor walked over, tugging on Annie’s hand. “You have to go get him and bring him back.”
Annie looked over at Della, who was blinking back tears. Taking a deep breath, Annie lifted Taylor up and set her on her hip. “I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I promise I’ll try.”
Della walked over, putting her arms around both of them. “Bring him back, Annie,” she whispered. “Bring him home.”
Will parked on a side street off Orange Ave in Coronado, a few blocks away from the ocean. Normally, he would have looked forward to meeting his teammates at McP’s Irish Pub—one of the popular SEAL hangouts close to the base. He would have enjoyed watching the younger guys hit on the women who hung at the bar specifically to meet Navy SEALs. Hell, he probably would have ended up hitting on one himself before the night was over.
The rest of the guys on his team, the ones with families, had gone home to spend the evening with their wives and children.
For the first time in his life, he envied them.
A warm breeze blew in from the Pacific and he turned his gaze toward the beach. Slipping his sunglasses on, he followed the sound of crashing surf to the stretch of white sand in front of the Hotel del Coronado. He’d spent the day on the base, getting briefed on the mission to gather intelligence on an Al Qaeda training camp in Yemen, getting supplies ready, checking and double checking his gear, touching base with each member of the team to make sure they were mentally prepared to leave first thing in the morning.
But the real question was: was he prepared to leave?
Stepping onto the beach, he took in the familiar scene: women lounging in bikinis, dogs chasing tennis balls through the surf, teenagers catching waves on their boogie boards, parents helping children build elaborate sandcastles that would be washed away by morning.
Reaching into his pocket, his fingers brushed unconsciously over the yellow ribbon his sister had given him so many years ago. A few hundred yards down the beach, a BUD/S trainer was shouting at the newest class of SEALs. Thirty guys had dropped to the sand, counting out a series of push-ups before scrambling to their feet and resuming their evening run.
When he’d first joined the SEALs, he’d been so focused on going after the people who’d killed his mother and sister that nothing else had mattered. Nothing any of the trainers could have said would have intimidated him or tempted him to quit. Most of the guys in his class had been equally driven, with 9/11 still fresh in their minds. They’d all been desperate to get out there, to hunt down the terrorists who’d attacked them at home.
But none of them had expected the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to last over ten years. None of them could have predicted the effect those two wars would have on over two million returning service men and women back home now and struggling with how to deal with what they’d experienced.
He’d like to think they’d made the world safer. They’d captured Saddam Hussein and killed Osama Bin Laden, but there were still plenty of terrorists actively recruiting, forming cells, planning senseless attacks on innocent people. The War on Terror wasn’t going to end anytime soon.
A few yards in front of him, a little girl in a pink dress was scooping sand into a plastic bucket. Her father was digging a mote around her sandcastle, and she squealed every time it filled with water.
Slipping the knotted ribbon out of his pocket, he held it in his palm. It was faded now, stained with dirt and blood, unraveling at the seams. He wondered what his sister would say if she could see him today. Would she be happy with the path he’d chosen? Would she be happy he�
�d spent the past ten years avenging her death?
What would his mother say if she found out he’d just walked away from the first woman he’d ever truly loved?
He’d taken Colin’s advice and listened to the messages on his phone last night. If what Della had said was true, then Annie couldn’t have been behind the plans for the resort. She hadn’t even been in contact with Blake since before Taylor was born.
He would never forget the look on her face when he’d accused her of seducing him.
All she had ever wanted was to be left alone.
But he hadn’t listened, had he? He hadn’t left her alone—not once. Almost from the moment he’d laid eyes on her, he hadn’t been able to stay away. He was the one who’d seduced her. He was the one who hadn’t been able to take no for an answer.
And, yet, at the first sign of trouble, he’d cast all the blame on her.
His gaze fell back to the ribbon. Waves curled, crashing over the sand. Seagulls circled overhead, their cries piercing the salty air. He heard a child’s laughter gliding over the wind as he slowly began to pull the ribbon apart. The knot gave way, revealing two silver threads hidden inside.
They sparkled, glinting in the fading sunlight.
As bright as the first day his sister had given it to him.
He knew what he had to do.
“This is it.” Annie thrust several crumpled bills over the seat. “Thanks. Pull over here. Right here’s fine.”
She didn’t bother to wait for the final tally, her left arm already looped through the handle of her overnight bag. She pushed open the door, stepping out. “Keep the change.”
The taxi sped away, leaving her alone on the curb.
She took in the six-unit apartment building in Ocean Beach. Colin had given her Will’s address, but he, like everyone else, had expected her to arrive over six hours ago.
She hadn’t counted on missing her connection in Denver, or on having to wait so long for another flight.
What if she was too late? What if he’d already signed the papers and she’d come all this way for nothing?
Gripping the handle of her bag, she scanned the numbers beside each door, searching for apartment #4. When she found it on the second floor, on the left-hand side, she headed for the stairs. Taking them two at a time, she could smell the ocean a quarter mile away. The freeway traffic hummed in the distance.
By the time she made it to the door, her hands were shaking and her palms were damp. She knocked three times, holding her breath as she listened for the sound of his footsteps.
What if Della was wrong? What if he didn’t want to see her? What if he slammed the door in her face?
The door swung open and all words failed her.
Will’s eyes widened. “Annie?”
He was wearing a white T-shirt and worn jeans. A shadow of stubble covered his jaw. Behind him, inside the apartment, a flat screen TV flashed the highlights of a sports game. The muffled voice of the announcer spilled out the door.
She’d rehearsed her speech a dozen times since last night, but now that she was here she didn’t know what to say. Now that she was here, all she wanted was to walk into his arms and spend the rest of the night there. “I know I’m the last person you want to see right now—”
He grabbed her, yanking her to him. His mouth was on hers before she could get another word out, hot and raw and demanding. Her bag slipped from her fingers, landing on the floor with a soft thud.
Will.
She had come here to apologize, to stop him from selling the inn, to ask him to come back to the island with her. But what did any of it matter as long as he forgave her? As long as he still wanted her?
All her life she had been searching for a place to put down roots, a place to settle in, a place to call home. But what if he was her home? What if the only place she and Taylor truly belonged was with him?
Palm tree fronds rustled in the salty breezes as she eased back, looking up at him.
“I can’t believe you’re here,” he said.
“I would have been here sooner, but I missed my connection in Denver.”
“I’ve been trying to call you for hours.”
“I left my cell phone on the first plane by accident. By the time I realized it, the plane was already gone.” She took a deep breath, gazing up at him. “I’m so sorry, Will. For everything.”
“You have nothing to be sorry about.”
“I think I do.” She stepped back. He wasn’t going to be happy when he found out about the inn. She still needed to tell him about the eco-resort. If he’d already signed the contract, he might not be so willing to forgive her. “I heard why you agreed to sell the inn. Grace told me about the new offer. It’s a lie, Will. Blake made it up. There isn’t going to be an eco-resort.”
“I know.”
She blinked. “You know?”
Will nodded slowly. “I knew it was a lie as soon as I read the contract Spencer faxed over last night. They switched a few paragraphs around to make it look like a different document, but they didn’t add in any of the language I asked them to. They probably assumed I wouldn’t read it.”
“So, you didn’t sign it?”
He shook his head, watching her carefully. “Is that why you came here? To stop me from signing the contract?”
“Yes.”
“You flew all the way to San Diego to stop me from selling the inn?”
She looked up at him as a thousand butterflies unfurled their wings inside her, fluttering around her heart. “I came because I love you, and you didn’t give me a chance to say goodbye.”
He pulled her to him, kissing her slowly this time, so slowly and tenderly he didn’t have to say the words for her to know he felt the same way.
“We want you to come back to the island,” she whispered.
“Who?”
“Everyone—Della, Joe, Grace, Ryan, Becca, Colin, Taylor.” She eased back. “But I know how much being a SEAL means to you. I know that your career is here, that this is where you have to be. Maybe we could split our time between the two places. Maybe we could find a way to make it work.”
He touched his forehead to hers. “I put in for a transfer to Virginia Beach today.”
“Virginia Beach?”
He nodded. “I don’t know if they’ll accept it, but I talked to my CO this evening and told him everything. I am going out with my team tomorrow, Annie. But it’ll only be for six weeks. And it’ll be my last time overseas.”
A glimmer of hope stirred inside her.
“My CO’s going to make some calls while I’m away. He’s going to try to find me a position on base in Virginia Beach until my contract with the Navy is up next summer.”
Annie held her breath. “Then what?”
“Then I’m coming home.”
“To Heron Island?”
“To you and Taylor.” He brushed a thumb gently over her cheek. “If you’ll have me.”
She pressed her lips to his, pouring her answer into the kiss.
“I’ll take that as a yes.” He laughed when they broke apart. “And by the way,” he said, lifting her into his arms and carrying her into the apartment. “I love you, too.”
Six weeks later…
Are you sure you’re ready for this?” Annie asked, squeezing Taylor’s hand.
“I’m ready,” she said bravely.
Standing outside the entrance to Taylor’s old school, Annie struggled with a rush of conflicting emotions. She didn’t want to be back here. She had never wanted to set foot in this building again. But Taylor had wanted to come.
Ever since they’d heard that Mount Pleasant Elementary had reopened two weeks ago, three months after the shooting in September, Taylor had been asking if they could make the trip.
Her counselor had said it would be a good idea, that it would give Taylor closure. She’d be able to visit with some of her old friends and teachers and see that everyone was getting back to normal, or at least a new kind of normal—on
e that included two security guards stationed outside the doors.
They nodded to Annie, stepping aside so she and Taylor could walk through. Looping Riley’s leash around her wrist, Annie was glad they’d decided to bring the dog. Not that they’d had much choice. Riley rarely left Taylor’s side now.
When Annie had mentioned to Ryan that she was thinking of getting Taylor a dog from the shelter, he’d laughed and told her he’d given up hope of ever getting Riley back weeks ago. Taylor wouldn’t know that Riley was officially hers until Christmas Day, but it was clear the dog had chosen her own family.
A few steps into the school, Taylor paused, gazing around in wonder. Sparkly garlands hung from the ceiling. Strings of paper snowflakes were strung along the walls. A huge paper mache snowman wearing a top hat and a goofy grin stood outside the entrance to the auditorium. Every locker had been painted a different shade of winter blue.
At the sound of footsteps, Annie turned to see Taylor’s old principal walking toward them.
“Taylor.” Sally Vaughn opened her arms to give her a hug. “It’s so good to see you.”
Taylor hugged her back, the ribbons tied to the end of her broom brushing over the floor.
“I see you brought a friend.” Sally pulled back, patting Riley on the head.
“Her name’s Riley,” Taylor said.
“I bet I know a few people who’d like to meet her.” Sally smiled, straightening and giving Annie a long hug, too. “I’m so glad you could make it.”
It was amazing, Annie thought, how much she’d dreaded this moment. And, yet, now that she was here, she felt a strange sense of peace. Every person in this building had been affected by this tragedy, and they had all managed to walk back through the doors, return to their classrooms, and slowly begin to pick up the pieces. Together they were facing down this evil, and finding the courage to move on. She pulled back, smiling up at Sally. “The hallway looks beautiful.”
“Wait until you see the classrooms.” Sally waved for them to follow her. “We had volunteers working around the clock.”
They made their way down the hall, passing several classrooms filled with students, until they came to the last room on the right. A huge banner hung across the top of the door with the words: “Welcome Back Taylor!”
